


The Spinning TopHat

by HyourinmaruIce



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2017-12-17 14:10:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/868467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyourinmaruIce/pseuds/HyourinmaruIce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grace has a lovely family</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a lot easier to tag here than on Tumblr...  
> and sorry about the spacing. I can't seem to fix it...

Grace finished talking to Henry, who was having trouble deciding which set of parents to spend the weekend with, and made her way home. It was friday, the last school day of the year, and she was going to have the whole summer with her family. At least, if her papa managed to reign in her dad, she was going to have a whole summer with her family.  
Unfortunately, she had the gut feeling that her dad was going to be just as much trouble as he was last summer when they found her older brother.  
“I just want to spend some time with him!”  
“He's old enough to make his own decisions Rumpel!”  
They had been like that the last few days, her papa was moody when Dad got like this... she sighed and stepped into the living room.  
Her papa sat in his top-hat on the white couch, the other one has turned purple after her dad had a spell go wrong... they had never changed it back.  
“Hello Grace!” Her dad chirped before popping off the purple couch and hugging her. If there was one thing her dad always did right, it was take care of family. Her papa was such a worrier. Dad knew what he was doing with her older brother.  
“Hey sweetie, how was school?” Her papa cradled a teacup in his hands, the teacup having a chip in the rim that Grace still didn't know the story behind. She plopped down beside him as her dad left the room to go to work.  
It was a shame, but he usually went to work when she got home from school. During the summer they could hang out during the day and make jokes together, Papa usually receiving the brunt of their humor, but the school year meant only a few times when they saw each other throughout the day.  
“It was fine, Henry was having trouble picking which parent to go home with for the weekend,” Her papa nodded and took a sip of his tea, “Ah,”  
Dad came back in and she gave him a look that her papa said she had gotten from her mother, “Grace... I think you should accompany me to my shop,”  
And then Grace grinned, her dad gave her his crooked smile, and her papa scowled, “I thought you were going to work,”  
“I am, mind if Gracie accompanies me?” She knew her papa couldn't say no, he'd fight it, but she knew one look at the puppy dog face her dad could produce and he would melt. It also didn't help her papa that Dad was wearing his suit with the purple shirt, tie, and handkerchief. She was young, she would admit, but she wasn't stupid.  
Her papa's lips twitched and she smiled where she was sure he wouldn't see, “Fine, take her. But she has to eat Rumpel. You two get so caught up in whatever you work on that you forget to eat sometimes,”  
Her dad waved Papa off and then winked at her, his turn and cane tap signaling for her to follow. She hopped off the couch and giggled as she stayed on his heels and followed him to the front door.  
Once her dad was sure they wouldn't be heard, he began whispering with her, “So do you really think he'll like it Gracie?” He called her Gracie, had for awhile now. Ever since they found Bae he'd given her little nicknames that she adored.  
They made her feel more like family. Originally, he had had a hard time adjusting to being HER family as well as her papa's... but he was now and that was all that was all that mattered. The occasional nickname just reaffirmed that.  
“He'll never believe that you had the idea though, he'll think I'm the one that told you,” She smiled at the thought.  
Dad snorted, “Well that is a given dearie, I asked if he'll like it,”  
She rolled her eyes, “Yes, Papa will love it. Happy?”  
Dad smiled and opened the front door for her, “Very,”


	2. The Story of the Chipped Cup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grace is determined to find out about her papa's cup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't this this series is going to be a continues stretch (each chapter leading to the next) More like mini-stories all within the larger one

“Papa?” Grace asked as she stepped into the kitchen. She watched his hands gently rub the porcelain of the chipped china, ever so gentle. She looked to his face but his eyes were hidden by the rim of his back-up top-hat.

She wasn’t about to tell him where the main one was.

“Yes, My Grace?” he whispered as he grabbed a towel and slowly dried the cup with just as much reverence as he had washed it with.

“Why is that cup important?” She knew, she had always known it was important. Dad didn’t like to talk about it, and Papa hadn’t liked to either, but she was older now. She wanted the truth.

“Oh, my Grace, for so many reasons… one being that it kinda brought your Dad and I together,” The trim seemed to pop up and his eyes regarded the porcelain fondly.

“How does a chipped cup do that Papa?” She asked and gently reached out to brush her fingers along the chip.

“That, my Grace, is not my story to tell. Why don’t you go ask your Dad? Or Bae! Yes, better ask Bae because Dad… well you know how he can get,” His eyes never left the chipped cup, his hand with the towel gently rubbing against the surface.

Knowing she wasn’t going to get her dad to talk anymore in the mood he was in, she went to find her big brother.

_____

“Bae?” She asked as she entered Granny’s, but he wasn’t there. Granny looked over the top of her glasses at her and she felt so much smaller than she had before.

But then Granny smiled, “He’s upstairs, first door on your left,”

Grace hurried by, taking the stairs two at a time as she listened to Granny shout at her, “And tell your Dad that I charge extra for morning visits!”

She giggled, it was an ongoing joke between her dad and Granny. Dad would show up and do something at Granny’s and Granny would say something menial and useless charged extra. Like pickles, though Grace always got extra pickles despite that.

The first door was already open when she reached the top of the stairs, she stepped inside, “Bae?” She asked the thin air.

He appeared out of his closet, dressed in a simple shirt and jeans. Emma had all his scarfs locked up for some reason, probably on account that is was summer.

“Hey Graceful! Take up ballet yet?” Her brother grinned at her. He was always making jokes about her name and she never really understood them, Dad usually explained them when Bae turned his back.

“Nope!,” She beamed at him as he sat down on his bed and patted the part of the bed next to his. She plopped herself down.

“You should you know, no self-respecting twelve year old doesn’t have a hobby,” He nodded at her in a serious manner that conveyed just how un-serious he actually was.

She pouted, “I have a hobby!”

“That involves helping my papa and his convoluted plots, yes, that’s a healthy hobby,” Bae sounded much more serious now, her knowledge of his open disapproval of her dad taking her to work buzzing in the back of her mind. She didn’t know why, Dad didn’t really have any plots anymore. He still owned the town, but he didn’t charge unrealistic rent or make magic mayhem.

“Anyway! I’m not here for a hobby Bae,” She laid back on the bed and rested her hands on her stomach.

He laid back with her, “Then what are you here for? To bother your…. best friend?” He still had trouble calling him her brother. He was like Dad in that manner, he didn’t think he could be a good brother but he was already an excellent brother. It was a shame he couldn’t see that.

“To bother my BROTHER for a story,” She wiggled next to him so that there was no way to escape without bothering her position on the bed.

He sighed, “What story?”

“Why is the chipped cup important?”

He turned his head sideways, his cheek pressing into the bed at he looked at her. It was times like this he reminded her of their dad. His eyes were dark, the brown swirling and very pretty. It was a shame he didn’t have the golden flecks Dad did.

“Do you really think that’s my story to tell?” He whispered to her, his voice faint as he eyes glazed over. He as so very far away from her.

She snorted, “Do you think my parents are going to tell me that story?”

He smiled, still so far away, and began.

“There was a woman named Belle. Now I wasn’t there, I was here. This was before the curse you see. Anyway, there was a woman named Belle. She was very brave, kind, and smart. She loved books and the world in general. She knew a great many things about the world through her books, and always wanted to find love and adventure.

But one day, Ogres attacked their little kingdom within a kingdom. Her papa was a lord at the time, so it was his job to make sure that things turned out alright. He betrothed her to their neighbor Lord’s son, to get more troops into the kingdom. It was a man by the name of Gaston,”

“You mean Uncle Gaston is…?”

“The one and only, anyway….

Unfortunately, people were still dieing and the streets were still filled with Ogres so Belle came up with a new plan, I said she was smart didn’t I?

She called the Dark One. Now her papa had also called the Dark One, with the promise of gold and riches, but, you see, the Dark One makes gold. He has no need for it,”

Grace knew that, anyone who knew her dad knew that.

“So when he showed up on Belle’s deal instead of Maurice’s, his price wasn’t gold. It was Belle herself. Now no one liked the thought of giving Belle to the Dark One, who knew what he would do to her,”

Grace snorted,

“Hey, now. None of that. He had quite the reputation," But Bae smiled, "So Belle came and became his care-taker. She washed his clothes, fed him, yelled at him for damaging books… and fell in love with him,”

Grace pulled away from Bae enough to get the full view of his face, it was solemn, “And he fell in love with her.” Bae voice grew softer as he spoke, “On her first day, she had dropped a cup in the floor and chipped it. He used it everyday…,” His face contorted into an expression she was sure she would understand one day.

“What happened to Belle?” Grace whispered. While she loved her Dad making Papa happy, he wouldn’t just leave someone he loved for another. That wasn’t like her dad.

“She died,”

Then Bae sat up and Grace slid into the indent he had left behind.

“But how did she die? And why is it important to my papa? When did Papa even discover the cup?” She rattled off more questions than she had thought she could before taking a breath. She laid in the indent and motioned with her hands at Bae, who kept his back to her.

Bae shook his head, “Maybe later Graceful… I’ve got a date,”

And then he was up and out the door and Grace was more determined than ever to get the whole story.


	3. What Henry Knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bae didn't give, maybe Henry will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been... 4 years.... 
> 
> I haven't seen anything beyond season 3. 
> 
> this was sitting in my rough drafts folder so I cleaned it up and put it here! I'll upload the rest in like a week

Grace slid in front of Henry with a huff, “You’re going to tell me about Belle.”

 

Henry glanced between the hospital and Grace with a look of both frustration and confusion. Emma was waiting just inside the first set of doors for him, and she was on the phone. “Hey, I don’t really have time…”

 

“Well you better make time.” Assertive, that’s what Dad said. If you want to get something, just act like you already have it. If she wanted Henry’s time, she was going to be like her Dad.

 

Emma tapped on the glass and pointed towards the inside of the hospital, an eyebrow arched in Henry’s direction. Henry grinned and waved before turning to Grace, “Okay okay! But, later. An hour?”

 

Grace crossed her arms and imaged a wire pulling her spine up. Papa said that’s how he always looked tall (and sometimes intimidating), he imagined a wire and other people could see it if they paid enough attention. No one ever paid enough attention.

 

Henry gulped, “Yes, okay so 45 minutes?”

 

“35 and not a second more. I’ll be in Granny’s diner.” Grace relaxed and waved with a smile at Emma, who grinned in response. Henry gave a small wave as she left with a skip towards Granny’s. 

 

She had 4 hours to get everything she needed. It was lunchtime now, which meant that Papa and Dad were eating in the shop while discussing the future. That was enough time to track down Henry and get to Granny’s without being spotted outside of school. The tricky part was getting Henry to give her the entire story before 4:30, when Dad or Papa (or both) came to pick her up after robotics club. It would be… difficult.

 

Granny had her back. “Kept the last table clear for you.” Ruby winked at her from behind Granny’s back. It had taken a lot of pleading, but Grace had managed to convince the both of them that she deserved the full truth of the chipped cup. Well, more like she said she’d share the details though a bug planted on her plate. 

 

“Thank’s Granny!” 

 

Ruby beep-bopped around the counter and served a couple orders before joining her at the table. “So, spill. How’d you get out of school?”

 

Grace checked her watch, a gift for her last birthday from Dad. She had 30 minutes to spare… might as well.

 

30 minutes later, Ruby is giggling and hopping over the counter, much to Granny’s chagrin, and Henry is stepping through the door with a sheepish expression and his book still cradled in his arms. 

 

“Okay but I have to induct you into operation Cobra.” Henry didn’t have any small talk when he sat across from Grace.

 

She had learned to raise her eyebrow from both parents and did so with amazing skill, “Isn’t that a little old since the curse has been broken for awhile now?”

 

“NO!” Henry’s shout causes the other patrons in the diner to glance his way. He sinks into his chair, “I mean, we’re still working on getting everyone together. Like, the zoo wouldn’t let Abu or Rajah out, so we had to convince them otherwise… and like, there’s some people still missing that we know came over because my mom told me they did and is surprised we couldn’t find them.”

 

“Wait, I thought everyone was accounted for…” Grace glances at Ruby and taps twice on the table. Henry was too glum to notice.

 

It took two seconds for Ruby to appear by Henry’s side, “You look like you ran a marathon, can I get you something to eat?” 

 

Henry sits up as if he had never been sad in the first place, “Oh, can I get a milkshake!? And some fries.”

 

Grace thinks about her order for a second before adding, “I’d like the same, and my Dad can take it out of rent money. Rent’s tomorrow right?”

 

Ruby nods, “Granny is adding up every penny you spend here when you say things like that. I think you have given her like a 200 dollar discount at this point.”

 

Grace adds a codeword into her next sentence, “Oh surely more than that, think of all those extra pickles.”

 

With a laugh, Ruby was gone and Henry was back to being glum. 

 

“Who else is missing?” 

 

Henry sighs and puts his book on the table before carefully opening it to the index. His finger traces the words down the page, each name slanted and difficult for Grave to read. Bae, however, had taught her how to read words upside down, slanted, and in any other orientation she might find them in. She’d never seen the inside of Henry’s book, so this was more exciting than she expected.

 

There was a story called Beauty and the Beast. And a chapter called “The chipped cup”. She needed that book. 

 

“Well… Ariel is still missing. But we think she’s just hiding because well… Eric and her had a falling out before the curse broke. That’s what my mom said. Oh! And Davy Jones is still missing! We originally thought that Hook and Jones were the same person, but Mr. Gold assured us that the last names were merely coincidence. Jones isn’t that odd a last name was what Mrs. Blanchard told me. I think he’s the restaurant owner that buys from Poseidon, but Emma thinks that’s too obvious since we’d have found him if that’s the case.”  

 

Grace hummed, “To be honest, Poseidon was an easy find since he stayed with his daughters. Regina likes him right? Because of how much he cares for his daughters? That’s what Papa said.”

 

“Yeah, I asked but mom wouldn’t agree to anything especially since it could “make her look soft”” Henry snorted, “But you want to know about…?”

 

Ruby served the food and left without another word, Grace noticed the small bug on her fry plate and turned it so Henry couldn’t see.

 

“Belle, Henry, I want to know about Belle. And the chipped cup. And how it brought Papa and my dad together.” Grace snorted and sipped at her milkshake.

 

Henry nodded and flipped open the book, “Well let’s start with Belle’s story because I don’t think I should tell you the other stuff.” He began regaling her with a tale that put her on the edge of her seat. “Belle was engaged…”

 

An hour later, Grace is sniffling as the story told of an evil queen who locked Belle in a tower and left Rumpelstiltskin alone. She knew her Dad’s story. When Bae was being brought into their lives, Papa sat her down and explained what was going to happen. Dad was bringing magic back so he could leave the town and find his son. Magic could cause some bad side effects so carry the top-hat coin (made by her Papa and Dad as they got ready of magic to come back), and be careful. She knew about her Dad being the evil one and the one to end the ogre wars. She knew that Bae had been betrayed by her Dad. She even knew that her Dad and Bae were still not fully reconciled and it would take some time.

 

She hadn’t known about Belle until Henry had opened his mouth and now… she felt her heart breaking. “She’s dead?”

 

“No.” Henry’s face was solemn. “She’s missing. Rumpelstiltskin thinks she’s dead, and Emma… Emma doesn’t want to let him know otherwise. Not until she can find Belle. For all we know, Belle didn’t come over with the curse.”

 

“Wait! How did the chipped cup help get Papa and Dad together? How has Dad not figured out that she’s not dead? Don’t you think he’d know that by now? How have you kept that from him? What about Papa? Wouldn’t Papa be able to know something, especially since he worked for your mom at the time?” Questions, questions upon questions spill out of Grace as she cries in frustration. This story left her with more questions than answers and not a single one of them would be answered by her parents. 

 

Henry began to panic, “You can’t talk to your parents about this! You’re part of Operation Cobra and you have to keep this a secret.”

 

“Why? Why can’t you give me more than what Bae did?” Grace heard Ruby shuffling behind the counter, felt the wisps of wind brush her cheeks as the door of the diner opened, and began to taste the salt of tears. 

 

“Because it would break their hearts.” Emma’s hand came down on Henry’s shoulder, “And you should be at school.”

 

Silence settled on the diner.

 

“Hey mom…” Henry gave a smile.

 

“Let’s have a discussion about the chipped cup away from prying ears, alright? Nice bug, by the way, very well done Grace.” Emma gave Grace a wink and Ruby cursed in the other room. “This already on Gold’s tab?”

 

Grace nodded.

 

“Good, let’s go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been... 4 years.... 
> 
> I haven't seen anything beyond season 3. 
> 
> this was sitting in my rough drafts folder so I cleaned it up and put it here! I'll upload the rest in like a week


	4. Emma, the story teller

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma shares the story Grace has always wanted to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of what I wrote so long ago... tell me what you think.

Emma took them to the ice-cream place down the street. Grace enjoyed lemon ginger ice-cream that her dad would get when she got all A’s on her  grade card (her papa got her mint chocolate), so Emma got her two scoops with a smile and a wink. “Don’t tell your parents, alright?”

 

“Of course.” Grace gave a smile in return. Henry looked confused and glanced between them.

 

“Parents?” Henry was semi-oblivious when he wasn’t super-focused on the task at hand.

 

“Don’t worry about it bud, it doesn’t have anything to do with operation cobra. Does Regina know?” Emma sat them down at a bench outside, Henry on her left and Grace on her right.

 

“Not sure, probably. She also, probably, doesn’t like that they’re happy.” Grace was quite observant, and she enjoyed watching the mayor express displeasure. Did that make her a bad person? She always wondered.

 

“Good point. She knows about Bae, so who knows.” Emma and Grace sat in silence for a bit, enjoying the sun and the company. Henry shifted, needing the voices of those with whom he was sitting. He didn’t like silence the way Grace did. Dad said silence could hold many things, and Grace believed him. Papa and Dad enjoyed silence.

 

“So, mom, you were going to tell us things?” Henry shifts again, not enjoying his ice-cream but glancing between it and Emma.

 

“Bae told me about Gold… and when he asked his dad to tell him everything that had happened, Gold told him. He wanted to make sure his son knew who he was and that they could allow their relationship to be healed with time and effort. That’s what Bae said.” Emma sighed, “Your dad is quite the understanding person.”

 

Henry beamed. Grace sat and listened, her head tilting as she focused on Emma.

 

“Do you really want to know? Once you know, it’ll be hard to look at that cup the same way ever again.” Emma was a cool person, Grace enjoyed her presence and how she delighted in breaking the order of the world around her… she was surprised how sad Emma looked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“You know the story of Belle?” 

 

“Yes. But what happens after?” Grace finished her ice-cream and turned to sit on the bench with her shoulders towards Emma. Her fingers itched for the information.

 

“After Belle was kidnapped by Regina, Jefferson approached Rumpelstiltskin to get rid of his hat. He wanted to take care of you, and using his hat was quite tempting on a bad day when the ability to get food was hanging in the balance. He knew he’d take that hat and disappear on the other side, and Rumpelstiltskin took it from his without hesitation. In return, Jefferson took the chipped cup. He didn’t know why it was important at the time, but that was the deal.” Emma sighed.

 

“Bae also asked Jefferson and he said he’d never seen Jefferson not smiling until that moment.”

 

Grace didn’t remember seeing that cup before the curse. 

 

“Well, Jefferson soon visited Rumpelstilskin to get his hat back, because there was a month where he couldn’t feed you properly... and it was tearing him apart. He brought the chipped cup with him and Rumpelstiltksk just said no. He didn’t yell or fight, just said no and turned away every time Jefferson turned up on his doorstep with the cup in hand. 

 

Eventually Jefferson grew angry and demanded his hat, and he broke and told Rumpelstiltskin how he hadn’t eaten in a week because he’d given all the food to you. Rumpelstiltskin invited him in and handed him enough food to feed you both for years to come in the form of a bag. When hungry, just reach a hand inside and it would give you food.”

 

Grace didn’t remember that either.

 

"At this time, the plan for the curse was under way and Jefferson noticed Rumpelstiltskin growing both happier and more... all over the place. Bouncing here and there in what Jefferson would say was anxiety. 

 

They had tea one day and Jefferson used that cup. And… something happened. Bae didn’t tell me because Gold said that was something Jefferson would have to tell him. It was implied that Jefferson dropped the cup and deepened the crack, and Rumpelstiltskin simply laughed and said how Jefferson should take better care of his tea cups. 

 

Their relationship grew slowly and by the time the curse came, Jefferson really enjoyed visiting Rumpelstiltskin. Regina, thinking they were friends, grew the idea to separate them during the curse. But during the curse… Jefferson kissed his ‘friend’ one day and his curse broke. 

 

Rumpelstilskin was Gold at this time and it threw him for a loop to have a true love’s kiss and someone un-cursed to face the years together.

 

It was a normal relationship after that. The slowly commiserating over the curse, Gold noticing that Jefferson still had that chipped cup… I don’t know the rest.” Emma stopped and looked to see Grace confused, “What is it?”

 

“That’s a rather simple story, there has to be more to it.” Grace glanced at Henry, who had finished his ice-cream and didn’t seem fazed by the story at all.

 

“Hey look, I just got my information from Bae. I have nothing else to give you.” Emma may be able to tell when people were lying, but she was a terrible liar. Grace noticed.

 

“I see.” 

 

Emma called Gold and Jefferson how Grace hadn’t been at school and to not bother to pick her up, the snitch, then dropped Grace at home.

 

“Cutting school are we?” Jefferson kneeled down to where he was Grace’s height, “Learning is quite important Gracie, take it seriously.”

 

“I was learning. I just couldn’t learn what I wanted to learn in school.” She always told the truth.

 

“Alright then, I believe you.” Her papa and her had shared many a hard time together, and they understood one another. Dad had a hard time looking between the two of them sometimes and understanding, but he always accepted it. 

 

Dad looked a little disgruntled at the moment, but said nothing. Grace hadn’t been around during the curse. She’d been given to a different family because Regina still wanted to torture Jefferson. But she was here now, and that’s all that mattered to her papa. She told the truth and believed her papa, he told the truth and believed Grace, and they worked together to overcome the years they were apart. Dad accepted it and moved forward.

 

“What did you learn?”

 

Grace then told her story of an adventure outside school and Emma being a kind savior that shared an interesting story. 

 

 


End file.
